Was justice served for baby Yohannes, son of Jasmine Janice Badocdoc and Ryan Noval in the “taped baby” case involving Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House, acknowledged as an institution in child and mother care?
Not yet.
Not according to the couple, particularly Ryan, who appears determined to pursue filing a complaint in court.
That would be their only recourse for satisfaction since the hospital has never apologized for sealing the baby’s lips with adhesive or acknowledged that it was their responsibility.
What is doubly tragic is the new strain put on the couple over the “amicable settlement” reached between the hospital and the baby’s mother, an agreement she now disowns.
We can only guess what kind of pressure has taken a toll on the parents after a month of being given the runaround, suffering Internet bashing and publicity –- some of it very unkind – that would push one party to try one last gesture at closure.
Cebu Daily News broke the story of the formal settlement, not just based on a document, but after talking at length with two persons who were present when Jasmine came over to the hospital’s board room to sign it – alone.
We knew there would be a firestorm right after because on the same Sunday the information was verified, her reaction and Ryan’s was sought separately.
The father was aghast and said it was impossible. The mother calmly said the couple was pursuing filing a complaint against the hospital. Later on, she woud state with confidence that any settlement, existing or not, would not erase the liability of the hospital.
On the other side of the fence, hospital officials who recount listening to the mother for hours lament the pressure of the controversy and her desire to seek “closure” and domestic peace are just as horrified.
We leave it to readers to judge for themselves the signatures on the check, voucher and “Settlement of Dispute” presented by the hospital management, and compare it with the specimen signatures written on the spot by the mother.
Only one side can be telling the truth about this matter of authenticity.
By logic, the one who feels aggrieved about forgery should not hold back at all in filing a criminal case with damages against the hospital. How else do you deal with falsification that stains your credibility?
It’s time to give all parties space to cool off and assess where they stand.
Amid all the emotional upheavel, the truth about the handling of baby Johannes has been resolved in findings of the inter-agency committee that confirmed that the taping incident did happen, that there was negligence and lapses involved on the part of the hospital.
If only the parties had waited for the result, and accepted it, there would be no quarrel about a premature, unsatisfactory, settelment on paper.
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